JP Sears owning Yankees is yet another nightmarish reminder of Frankie Montas trade

The day the New York Yankees shake this trend, the governor should make it a holiday for the state, because it's truly unbelievable how this has managed to work against the Bombers for as long as it has. And it was no different on Monday afternoon.

Wait ... Monday afternoon? Against the Oakland Athletics?! You bet! JP Sears, a former Yankee who was sent to the A's in the disastrous Frankie Montas trade, was on the mound. What'd we think was going to happen?

In the Yankees' defense, they did rock Sears last season. In two starts, the left-hander got shelled for 10 earned runs in 9.1 innings against New York. But that was technically an adjustment season for him, as he was finding his bearings for his first full campaign in lowly Oakland.

All in all, Sears finished 2023 with a 4.54 ERA and 1.27 WHIP in 32 starts. Not bad. Not great. He's been solid this year, too. Heading into Monday, he had a 4.35 ERA and 1.16 WHIP in his first four starts. All of his numbers got better when the game ended, too.

Sears carved up the Yankees. He tossed six shutout innings, allowing just three hits and a walk while striking out seven. The A's won after homering in the top of the ninth to make it a 2-0 game.

JP Sears owning Yankees is yet another nightmarish reminder of Frankie Montas trade

And that, of course, spoiled seven scoreless innings from Carlos Rodón. For as "good" as the Yankees are this year, they've now wasted two straight seven-inning scoreless outings from their starters when they've needed it most. The rotation has largely been unable to go deep into games, which has been putting a ton of pressure on the bullpen.

The Yanks have scored a grand total of zero (0) runs in those games, and they reminded us of Montas the second time they did that.

Back in 2022, Brian Cashman thought he was playing chess when he sent Jordan Montgomery to the Cardinals in exchange for Harrison Bader. It was believed he had two trades lined up to address Monty's departure. One was for Montas -- the luxury acquisition -- and the other was for Pablo Lopez -- the much-needed acquisition. The Lopez deal fell through, and hte Yankees found themselves swapping out Monty for Montas, who battled a shoulder injury for the first half of the year and was never particularly (consistently) effective as injuries and off-field issues plagued his MLB career.

The result? Montas eventually went down for good with the shoulder issue, then needed surgery not too long before 2023 Opening Day. He ended up pitching nine games (41 innings) in pinstripes across two years. Then he bolted for the Reds in the offseason because he was offered $16 million. Just an absolute waste of everybody's time, and a very good reason to express frustration and resentment.

Glad to see Sears doing well, but of course his best outing of the young season came against New York, right? Then again, that's how he started off his Yankees career! He was untouchable. Hey, same for Montas too, who is already injured in Cincy.

Some things never change, and that goes for the Yankees' anemic offense consistently showing up at the worst possible times. Weird day overall. See you on Tuesday.